


Mother Issues, Part 2: What needs to be said.

by justinsbuzz



Series: Homeworld Aftermath Arc [7]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Cliffhangers, F/M, Family Fluff, Gen, Secret Past
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-22
Updated: 2018-08-22
Packaged: 2019-07-01 06:19:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15768351
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justinsbuzz/pseuds/justinsbuzz
Summary: Steven is safe, and at the Maheswaran residence. Priyanka and Steven finally get a chance to talk about the events that occurred while Steven and Connie were away, current situation of the house, a shared past secret. as well as what had occurred on 'Mask Island' and a possible change that could affect Steven and Connie's new relationship status.





	Mother Issues, Part 2: What needs to be said.

**Author's Note:**

> I think i got this fanfic thing down to a science. maybe. Took me a while to set this up just right to stitch up most of the loose ends. Number 7 of 8 in the "Aftermath" Arc. as of now (8/22) there's been no word of new episodes. and also, its the one month anniversary of 'Legs from here to Homeworld", the episode that started this arc. so sit back and enjoy this fluff piece.

It was quiet around the small dining room table at the Maheswaran residence. The afternoon light slightly danced in the window. moments earlier, Amethyst, Peridot and Lapis said their goodbyes to Steven and Connie. Priyanka told Lapis and Peridot that Blue Diamond, or as she put it 'Stevens aunt.', needed both of their help with the ships. blue Diamond never mentioned Amethyst, but Greg and Doug requested her help as well. Amethyst was reluctant to leave Steven alone with 'A Doctor' a type of person she didn't care for, but Steven and Connie convinced her that it was going to be ok. It seemed as though she got word that Steven, Connie, Amethyst, and Peridot, went on a vacation to mask island, but she was the last to know. Steven and Connie had simultaneously thought about the scene of Priyanka berating Doug and Greg, while the Diamonds and Gems looked on in some amusement. and saying that Amethyst was chaperoning them would have made things worse. Priyanka was over at Stevens house having an awkward conversation with blue when Connie and Lion rode in looking for Priyanka's help. The kiss Steven and Connie shared felt like years ago. everything went so fast, going from talking about how change is a universal constant, to Connie holding Steven while he healed in the spring. And now, everything is silent. no one knows who should go first. but Steven was the first to break the silence.

"Thank you, Dr. Maheswaran." Steven spoke

"hmm?" Priyanka asked with a sound.

"For....for saving me. both of you. Thank you." Steven said again, but with more detail.

"Oh. you're welcome." Priyanka said. she was never use to having patients thanking her. in her line of work, after dealing with one patient, she moved on to another. having to be both a doctor and surgeon would require going at a faster pace than most could handle. but having Steven thanking her was somewhat special. she spoke up again with the slight sound of worry.

"How are you doing?" She asked.

"well my legs and arm feel somewhat stiff. but they are ok." Steven replied. this wasn't the answer she was hoping to get.

"No, Steven. i meant how are you holding up? how are you feeling? mentally?" She asked again with better emphasis. she didn't sound like a doctor now. "I had heard things about your mom being someone else entirely. Giant hands bursting out of the ground and flying in the sky. Giant women fighting with your friends, and my daughter, on the beach, and then ending up going to a place called homeworld. I don't really know what happened there, but if it required you to go halfway across the globe and onto a secluded island, then it.....how are you feeling, Steven?"

Stevens hands began to tremble. only two people had asked him about how he was holding up. Out of all the people in his life, even his own dad, only two of his closest friends, one being someone he finally confessed his love for, and one who was a big sister and mentor to him, asked him a question he didn't know how to really answer. but his feelings about it was akin to having food poisoning, or having everything within him clenched up. Connie reached over to him and held his hand tight, the same way she did when Steven was going into shock from the jellyfish.

"I....i feel..." Steven started speaking, keeping his voice calm while asking a difficult question. "I feel betrayed. I feel tired. I feel lost. i don't know how to answer that question, because only Connie and Amethyst ever really asked me that. but i didn't think you would ever want to know. It felt like you were always put off by me being friends with Connie. I just felt like a nuisance."

It grew silent around the table. Priyanka face showed more worry and confusion than it did minuted before. She let out a deep sigh, and spoke.

"Steven. you are not a nuisance. you are not a freak, or a nuisance, or trouble, or anything negative." Priyanka said. she began to remember the incident at the hospital over a year ago, how some goofy little kid and her daughter became unbelievable heroes without her ever knowing what her daughter was doing. "Back then, the gem mutant incident, i HAD thought you were somewhat strange, but it's different now. much more different."

"How so? How are things different?" Steven asked with some curiosity and confusion about this.

"Well, afterwards, Connie told me everything. from the forced mutations, gem experiments, Peridot and Lapis, even about Stevonie." Priyanka answered, but it was still a list to go through. but Steven became shocked that Priyanka knew about Steven and Connie fusing.

"Wait! YOU KNOW ABOUT STEVONIE?! It was an accident, i swear-" Steven began to apologize for something that never required it, but Priyanka raised her hand to stop Steven.

"Don't apologize. It's OK. I mean, i would want to meet her one day or give her a physical to figure out some things, but it's OK. as i said, Connie told me everything." Priyanka said reassuringly, even though Steven was still nervous. his hands grew cold and clammy, and Connie could attest to it. "Connie even told me about going into space to see Lars, and about how you had brought him back to life with your tears. Steven, you are special. more than anything, you're special and mean a lot to many people."

Steven still felt confused and worried, about all of this.

"I know that you grew up without any real mother, or a present father, but know that everything you are, and everything you've done, i know Rose would be so proud of you. Steven there's something i need to tell you that the Gems should have told you a while ago. about....how you were born....." Priyanka started speaking, but with a sense that she wasn't sure how to talk about it. "Steven.....I was there....when she gave herself up for you to be born. i even knew her, even if it was brief."

Both Steven and Connie were shocked at this revelation. 

"WHAT?! HOW?! i-what!?" Steven was stuttering while Connie's jaw dropped to the table. Priyanka felt like she made things worse, but it was too late now. Priyanka reached over and put a hand hon Stevens shoulder to calm him down.

"Steven. I want to explain, and emphasize why i always felt put off by you. you see, I met Rose over 15 years ago. i was in my second year in college, and i was off for summer break. I took on a job as a life guard in Beach City. I didn't want to go back home to see my father and step mother. I ended up bumping into Rose after saving some goof-ball trying to impress me with, and I quote, 'Sick wave riding skills'.” 

Wait” Connie interrupted. “Goof-ball. Is that how you met....dad?”

“One story at a time Connie.” Priyanka stated before getting back to how she met Rose. “She seemed fascinated about how humans were willing to risk themselves to save one another. She thought that the gems had to protect humans when we're capable of doing that ourselves. She told me a lot about herself and about gems. It was kind of a lot to take in. And at the time, she looked to be almost 8 months along. I couldn't quite tell since she was almost 9 feet tall. We traded numbers just in case she had an emergency. Then one late afternoon,i got a call from Greg telling me to come to their house. What happened next was, well, unexplainable. Do you two want anything to drink?”

Both Steven and Connie were lost in story before realizing Connie's mom asked them a question. They both shook their heads before she got up to get a glass of iced tea from the fridge. As Priyanka was doing that, Steven asked a question he never thought he could be asking her.

“So....you knew the gems, And my dad? Why didn't you say anything when we first met?”

“Well, to be fair, and no offense, your dad looked a lot different now than he did back then. He didn't have a beard, and his hair wasn't....as long. And most of my attention was pointed towards Alexandrite eating all the bread-sticks” Priyanka said with a slight cringe on her face. She then sat back down at the table “At the time, I only knew certain emergency procedures, tying a tourniquet, and delivering a baby. I thought this was going to be a proper learning experience. I got why they couldn't go to the emergency room, because they were aliens. I only delivered a baby twice in my life, but this wasn't like that. Skipping most of the unpleasant stuff, she seemed to have 'fused back into her gem, and leaving behind a small baby. None of us knew how it would play out, so it was scary for most of us. Next thing I knew, we crowded around you, I took vitals, and Greg wrapped you up. Pearl was crying her eyes out, Garnet comforted her, and Amethyst attacked me, saying I killed her. She even bit me!”

Priyanka lifted her right sleeve to show a small scar near her elbow, which looked like teeth marks. Steven was shocked, came to understand a few things.

“So thats why she doesn't like doctors! I thought it was because they tried to experiment on her.” Steven said “And also, she is a biter.”

“Yes, I learned that first hand. Of course she wasn't the last one to do that.” Connie's mom looked at Connie briefly and looked back at her glass. Connie looked insulted

“I grew out of it, mom! And not in front of Steven, he doesn't know.” Connie said looking incredibly embarrassed. Steven chuckled at the thought of Connie as a toddler, going around and biting people, But Connie glowered at Steven in a way that she probably picked up from her mom. “And I can grow back into it Steven.”

Steven kept his smile as subtle as he can. Priyanka continued her story.

“But before that, when Greg was working at the car-wash, we talked from time to time about the baby. What she hoped the baby would be like, having hopes that they'll turn out OK. She wasn't sure how to talk to pearl about it, because Pearl wasn't too keen on the idea of her and Greg having a baby. So most of the time, it was Rose, Garnet, and I that talked about you. She told me that she couldn't exist at the same time as you. I never understood why until that night. But whenever we talked about you, she was so hopeful and excited for you to experience everything.” Priyanka then reached out to Stevens hand and held it. “Steven. If she could see you, she would be gushing with joy as to how to turned out. And I know you think you and her are the same person, and I know you feel some sense of responsibility to live up to a certain standard. The last part I can really relate to. But if there was anything your mother wanted for you, or was expecting you to be, it was to be yourself. To not live up to any standard, or to not be like anyone. She wanted you to be yourself.”

“Why are you telling me this?” Steven asked. “Where is all of this coming from?”

“Before Connie brought me to Mask Island, I was at your house, talking to Blue Diamond, as well as your dad.” Priyanka answered, drawing her hand away. ”I never really got a chance to talk to him, or the other gems. But with work being slow, I figured it would be the best time to check in.”

“Did Pearl and Garnet reformed? Are they back now?” Connie asked eagerly. Priyanka had a disappointed look on her face.

“I'm afraid not. Bismuth is still taking care of their gems.” She replied, wishing she had better news. “Bismuth seems to be a nice person, as well as Blue. She told me you two had a conversation on the way home, said that you two made a connection. So you weren't wrong about it being a diplomatic mission. But as Blue told me, you ran into some trouble there.”

“It-” Steven began to speak, but then decided to carefully word things correctly. “It could have been better. Everything that had happened were out of our control. White Diamond was very unhinged, things were brewing, and it was bound to happen. The fighting, the rebellion, all of it was a long time coming. No one could be blamed, and since we all got out safely, and brought some new allies, the diplomatic mission turned into a success. Just not in the way we thought it would.”

Connie looked over and smiled at Steven, who seemed to have gotten over the guilt he had about everything. she ended up not containing herself and got out of her chair and hugged while he was still sitting. Saying that it was about time that he got over it.

“And for a while now, I did live with unwanted guilt, thinking everything rose did, or what Pink Diamond did was all on me. But you two and Amethyst broke me out of it. Thank you.” Steven said while Connie was nearly putting him in a choke-hold hug. “So i'm guessing the construction is going well?”

“Eh, it's getting somewhere.” Priyanka answered, as she was trying to find a better description for the current situation. “ it's going to be a bit different, that I know. And the ships are nearly repaired. If they had worked on one thing at a time, then it would be a different story.”

Steven understood what she meant. The last time he was there, the ships were still sitting in the ocean, the house was all but demolished, and everything he owned was in his hod dog duffle bag, and his cheeseburger backpack. He wasn't sure if it was still on the island or not, but his attention turned to Connie.

“So you met Blue. How did that go?” Connie asked.

“She was.....interesting. Very emotional about Steven and she said she liked you. Yellow on the other hand seemed very.....familiar.” Priyanka replied. “I think I could get to know her better if she just stopped looking at me like I was a bug. But after everything was said and done, they cant wait for you to come back. But it might be a while. Maybe another week perhaps.”

“In time for your birthday Steven!” Connie exclaimed

“Yeah. Kind of.....convenient” Steven said, looking at Priyanka, who's eyes turned quickly to her half empty glass.

“What do you want to do for your birthday?” Connie and Priyanka asked accidentally, at the same time. Steven was kind of surprised about Priyanka wanting to know about it, but he's currently trying to adjust to this side of her. She always seemed so cold in the past. But know, things make sense.

“Well, for now, I'm just going to wait for the house to be built, but I'm not sure where I'll be staying. Did we leave the bags back on the island?” Steven replied, now thinking about where his bags are.

“You'll be staying with us, Steven.” Priyanka stated. “I worked it out with your dad, and....the Diamonds. I'm going to have to get use to that. But for the time being, you'll be staying with us until your house is built.”

“I can get a hold of amethyst if she isn't busy and she and I can go get your bags later. For now, you take it easy.” Connie said.

“She's right. I'm going to want to keep you around for observation. Amethyst said the fountain has healing properties, but I don't want to take any chances.” Priyanka said, sounding like the professional doctor she is “Plus we need to go over some ground rules about your, well, 'status update'.”

“.....Amethyst blabbed about it, didn't she?” Steven and Connie said together disappointingly

“She more than just 'blabbed about it'” Priyanka started while getting out her phone. After a few moments, she raised her phone to them. It was an E-mail with an attachment of a video of Steven and Connie on the beach. Priyanka turned up the volume for them to hear Steven telling Connie about how he really felt about her, and how she gives him the reason to love.

“Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Why amethyst, why?” Connie could be heard mumbling to herself. Steven knew his cheeks were glowing red. They knew what was coming next. Connie kisses Steven deeply, there was the fusion glow, and Stevonie cheering about love. Amethysts and Peridot could be heard giggling and snorting

“See that, P. I win the freaking pool! That means you have to shape-shift into an peacock for an entire week! HA!” amethyst said, turning the phone onto herself, showing an unusually large grin.

“oh, oh! Lets scare them!” Peridot added while shaking the bushes nearby.

“Get out of my head, girl!” Amethyst said, turning onto a monster. Peridot picked up the phone and kept recording. Then came the part where Stevonie was about to fight them, with the video finishing right at the point where Peridot had an up close picture of Stevonie, baring her teeth. Connie let out a deep groan that turned into a growl. “The moment I get my hands on another sword, those two are going to be the practice dummies for a month.”

“The worst part” Steven started to say, looking at the top of the e-mail. “Is that she sent copies to everyone on her contacts list.” He was right too, and judging from the recipients list, it was everyone she knows. The secret was out, and all the people know of Stevonie, the island warrior.

Connie repeated the groan, but it turned into a slight whine.

“OK. Wheres the abacus? Might as well get this over with. How long am I grounded for?” Connie asked, sounding defeated.

“You're not going to be grounded. You're just growing up. Plus, since everyone knows about it, no punishment needed. Besides, this was going to happen eventually” Priyanka said, putting away her phone, and looking as though she was blushing a bit. “It's time we talked about ground rules. Number one, no dating on school nights. Number two, no being out past 9 without a chaperone. And Number 3, keep your grades up. If it dips because of you two dating, then there will be a dating probation. Deal?”

“Um, yes ma'am” They both responded in unison. This was a surprise to both of them. They never thought she would keep an open mind about all of this. Apart from all of beach city knowing about Stevonie, things really seem to be OK. But Steven had begun to have reservations about Staying with them for a week.

“Um, are you sure it's OK? If I stay here? I don't want to intrude or get in anyones way.” Steven said apologetically. Priyanka shook her head.

“It's more than OK, its an order from a doctor. The hospital has....cut my hours back. So I'll be around more. Keeping an eye on your health, and keeping the funny business down to a minimum” Priyanka replied. She started to look worried.

“Wait, Dad said that things were getting slow at the security office, and now the hospital is cutting back hours. Is everything OK, mom?” Connie asked with a slight sense of fear.

“Connie, honey, everything is going to be OK. But, and I mean it as a very slight chance, we might be looking....around.” Priyanka said cautiously.

“You mean we might be moving?” Connie asked in a horrified tone. Priyanka didn't say a word, but her face grew slightly flushed, and lost for words. The Atmosphere grew tense and thick, for there was no gentle way to say anything. Connie's arms began to hug Steven tighter.

**Author's Note:**

> Next time; After the metaphorical bomb of uncertainty dropped, Connie opens up about her past. A week is spent with Steven getting to know what normal is like, and an ending to an arc, but not the writing. All that would be left would be going home, but how much has changed, and what awaits Steven. get your party hats on and jump into your clown cars, Its "Surprise Steven!; The sun sets on a new Beach City".


End file.
